Month: February 2017

Finding The Right Tiny

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     “Small rooms or dwellings discipline the mind; large ones weaken it.” – Leonardo da Vinci

Downsizing is a great thing for most anyone to do at any point in their life. We have put such a stress on things in our society instead of experiences. The tiny living movement is about shifting those norms. Having a tiny home does not mean you can’t also live big! There are a variety of ways to go tiny depending on your wish list for a home, your budget, and how adventurous you are. In the last post, we touched on some of the reasons why more and more people are embracing a more minimalist lifestyle. It is much more economic, it has a much more positive effect on the environment than traditional homes, and most importantly people are finding a drastic improvement in their quality of life over all. In this post, we will explore what your options are for a tiny home. Maybe some of you are curious about how to live simpler, and maybe some of you are ready to take the plunge into finding your own tiny home. I hope this post will be able to provide you with more insight into the decision making process.

Tiny houses come in a variety of forms. I know people who have moved into sails boats, who have built small cabins or houses, and people who have inhabited campers,trailers, schools buses, and train cars to name a few. Your options are abundant and are only limited by your creativity. Today though we are only going to focus on a few main types. The tiny house, a tow behind travel trailer, and a motorhome. We will compare the pros and cons of each and provide some information for you if you are interested in those options.

First up is the very popular “tiny home”. This small house is appealing, because, well it looks just like a regular house! These lovely homes give the same cozy feeling as walking into a traditional house. Let’s dive into the pros and cons.

Pros: Very aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Instantly feels welcoming with minimal effort. You save so much time in cleaning! You can customize these babies any way you can think of so you have something totally unique and reflective of your personality. They are more energy efficient than your traditional 2600 square foot home. They also make great home offices and guest suites. I love the tiny homes because the sky really is the limit with design.

Cons: Transporting can be stressful and a little pricey depending on how far you need to go. It looks like on average for 50 miles freight transport can range from $300-$700 per move. If you want to travel quite a bit this may not be the best bet for you. Unless you plan on building your own, tiny houses are the more expensive option. They can range between $20,000 and $70,000. The cost per square foot is typically much higher than a traditional size home. While this is starting to change, there are still  several places in the United States that do not allow tiny homes per zoning laws. Here is a great article outlining what you need to know legality wise for your tiny home: http://www.curbed.com/2016/9/22/13002832/tiny-house-zoning-laws-regulations

What to know: Tiny houses are a great step in downsizing and living a simpler, more meaningful lifestyle. They are wonderful for customization. The average tiny home ranges in size from 100-400 square feet. If this sounds like your cup of tea make sure you check out the zoning areas for your destination and don’t forget to include any transportation fees into your budget if you are not building directly on your spot of land. Space is going to be a consistent theme in all of the options we discuss and while it can certainly be a con, if you can think more creatively about your space then it can also serve as a pro. When you are designing or working with a designer for your tiny house, make sure to include creative storage solutions, perhaps a desk that can pull out of the wall if you need a work space, and don’t forget about the outdoors! Your outdoor space is a room too that can be perfect for working, studying, and hosting guests.

Next up is the motorhome. The American dream on wheels!

marquis_new_mage

Pros: You can take this guy anywhere! This is the ultimate traveling machine. The space can actually be really great depending on the model and how many slide outs you would like. The slide outs add tons of extra living and working space. There are RV parks all over the country that you can stay in for a couple days or a couple years if you like. These parks also typically include all of your utilities plus they may have additional amenities like a swimming pool, nature trails, a clubhouse, among other nice features that you would be able to use. Motorhomes are family friendly as well. While you probably will not get more than 400 square feet, motorhomes are designed for compact living so the spaces are built to be as functional as possible. This is a great option if you are looking to spend some time out on the road! RVs can range in price from a few thousand dollars up to a couple hundred thousand dollars, so there is a budget for everyone. When you are not living in your RV full time, they are still great for vacations, concerts, tailgates, and of course camping adventures, so you can really maximize your time and money with your motorhome.

Cons: The biggest con would be maintenance. If your transmission goes out or some other major part, you have to leave your home in the shop which means you would have to find somewhere else to live while it is being worked on. Those fixes can be expensive too. Not all mechanics can work on RVs, you have to go to someone who can specifically work on motorhomes and depending on where you are they may not be easily accessible. They also are not the best bang for your buck space wise. While you can maximize space with slide outs and nifty built in storage, you will definitely pay for it. You are also limited in the customization of the space.

What to know: RVs are an excellent option for a tiny home, especially for the constant traveler. They are very easy to transport. You do not have as much freedom personalizing your space as you did with the tiny house option. Things to think about if you are going the camper route: Consider buying used. You can get some really great deals just buying a slightly older model than buying brand new. Someone told me once, “Never buy a new motorhome!”Even if it is just a year or two older you can save thousands. Will you need 30 amps or 50 amps? I personally suggest 50 amps and that way you always have the option should you need it. Prices of lots at RV parks will differ though between 30 and 50 amps so keep that in mind when you are searching for a place to park your home. Here is a great forum to help you determine what your electrical needs may be:http://www.rvnetwork.com/index.php?showtopic=114691

And last but not least, the travel trailer! I love this clip from the classic The Long, Long Trailer!

Pros: Travel trailers are extremely cost effective. You definitely get the most bang for your buck with these guys. They are pretty easy to transport. You do not have as many things that need maintenance as you do with the motorhomes, so the upkeep is easy peasy. There are no transmissions, engines, etc to worry about, making most fixes much cheaper than the motorhome option. There are so many varieties to choose from with the retro look of the Airstream to the sleek look of the Coachman , to the outdoorsy feel of the Flagstaffs; you are sure to find one that suits your style and needs. These are much more conducive to conserving energy and water.

Cons: You need a vehicle that has the capacity to tow your trailer. Regulating temperature in these can be tricky depending on where you are. There are definitely ways around this, but keep in mind that in the summer these will get very hot and likewise in winter. You can definitely renovate and make the space your own, however unlike with the customizable tiny house, you are limited to working with the space you have got.

What to know: You still need to be conscious of 30 amps versus 50 amps. When you are buying used (which I definitely suggest to save money) make sure you open all the cabinets and touch all the walls, ceiling, push on the flooring to search for any wet spots which could mean there is a costly leak present. Also make sure you are able to hook everything up and run the sinks, showers, flush the toilet, to make sure everything is working and you have no leaks before purchasing. Also be conscious of corners where water might collect and could eventually lead to water damage or a leak. Here is a great (slightly long) video of what to check for you when you do go shopping for your RV:

Those are the pros and cons of the main tiny living options that are out there. If you have any specific questions about any of them, please comment or email us. If you have advice or experiences to offer from your own personal experiences we would love to hear them! If you are one of those people living in some other unconventional home, please hit us up, we would love to hear your story!

 

The Decision To Go Small

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Towards the end of 2016 my husband, Brian, and I made the decision to join the tiny home movement! As much as we would like to think, this is actually not some new, innovative, hipster movement. People have been going tiny for decades and there are many reasons as to why. Making the decision to go small is a personal one and is not always feasible for families. While we have embraced this change and sincerely believe it is the perfect move for us the goal of this blog is not to convert people to living in tiny homes or campers, (like us!) but to simply help people think more creatively about their spaces. By following our blog, we hope to inspire people to find small, simple steps to living a more sustainable, healthy, and happy lifestyle.

Our journey started in September of 2016. We had moved from a 4 bedroom home in Georgia the prior year into a smaller 2 bedroom condo in South Carolina. We loved downsizing. It was such a liberating experience to shed ourselves of so much STUFF! Useless, meaningless stuff! We often thought that when we moved again we would love to downsize even more. The time came at the end of the summer last year to start thinking about moving again. We first started looking at apartments, but did not have much luck as we have a large sweet goofy dog that was well out of the weight limit of most apartment complexes. We looked at houses, but realized quickly we were not getting very much for our money. We decided it was the perfect opportunity to research tiny living options.

When you are looking for a home, regardless of whether it is a tiny one or not, you have to have reasons or a wish list of what it is you are looking for. For example, your wish list might say: must have a garage, 3 bedrooms, and preferably hardwood floors. Our wish list was a little different. We wanted to be mobile, we wanted something small, efficient, and a fixer upper all in one! We were disappointed at first when we started researching those fascinating tiny homes featured on HGTV as they were very expensive, very difficult to move frequently, and as we soon discovered, illegal in a lot of states. While these were great options for people who wanted to live smaller in a more permanent place, the tiny house option was not ideal for us. That is when we moved on to motorhomes.

The idea of hitting the open road whenever we wanted and not having to pack a thing when we moved was utterly romantic and exciting! That is until we went and looked at some motorhomes and realized all of the cons. While motorhomes are excellent for traveling and vacations, for permanent living it was not a viable option for us either. The structural space is too difficult to alter and you do not get as much bang for buck as you do with a travel trailer. You have to consider the possibilities of engine, transmission, and other mechanical trouble. Perhaps if you are a mechanic that specializes in RV repair this may not be a bad option, but for us having to take our motorhome into the shop for repairs meant that we would be homeless until it was fixed. Not to fret though, because then we saw it! The Rusty Rivet is what we lovingly referred to it as. Thirty-four feet of gorgeous aluminum. It was a 1982 Avion travel trailer and it was perfect. It was the perfect amount of space, very inexpensive, and we could easily update it with our custom ideas, plus Emma our German Shepherd-Mastiff mixed pup walked right in and took a nap on of the twin beds as if to claim her room. We purchased it and the renovations began!

Everyone’s journey to finding their dream home is different and consists of varying needs. Our dream home happened to be an old camper that we customized to fit our style and comforts. We chose this unconventional home for many reasons. It is a little more eco friendly than our previous dwellings. We use less energy, water, and changed the way we think about food, waste, and other resources. These environmental foods for thought will be featured in blog entries to come. Thinking about living more sustainably is a big deal to us as a couple as we grapple with tough topics that are facing our culture and world today such as sustainable agriculture, climate change, conservation efforts, and renewable energy to name a few. Living smaller has helped in facilitating a more responsible lifestyle for us. It  also allows us to be mobile. We love to travel and camp and have no plans of settling in one city for an extended period of time right now, so it is perfect for an on the go lifestyle like ours. It is economical for us. At most campgrounds, which is where we park our home, all of your utilities are included with your lot rent, some places charge electric separately, but on the low end we have seen rent and utility expenses down to $350 per month and on the high end $700. Even on the higher end it has cut our expenses down by nearly half. We also loved the idea of living in a home that we were able to customize to our style. Living in a camper has been an unexpectedly soulful experience. I have to admit, waking up in the morning and peering out of one of the many large windows and seeing the sunlight slowly trickle through all of the trees that surround our camper is priceless. It has forced us to seek more experiences instead of more stuff. We get to be immersed in nature every single day and even though we work normal jobs in a normal town, I cannot express enough the joy and gratefulness that I feel by starting  my day surrounded by brooks and trees and ending my day the same. Coming home after a long day at the office to such a serene and cozy home is like leaving everyday for vacation. Those are the reasons we started our tiny camper home journey. What you can expect in future posts will be an array of topics including but not necessarily limited to tips and tricks for camper living, what we used and how we did our renovations, introducing modern technology to a classic camper, small space gardening, road trips and traveling, small space organization, steps to living more sustainably, and much much more! Take this journey with us as we continue to learn and grow and check out the gallery regularly for updated pictures! Your feedback is always welcome so please shoot us an email or find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram by searching The Rusty Rivet.

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